Arisan Maru

The Ship

The Arisan Maru began its career as a standard Japanese merchant cargo vessel, built in 1937 for commercial transport across the Japanese empire’s expanding maritime interests. At the time of its construction, it was not designed for passengers—let alone prisoners of war—and featured the typical cramped holds and storage compartments of a freighter. Like many Japanese commercial ships during the Second World War, it was eventually commandeered for military use as Japan fought a far-flung conflict across the Asia-Pacific.

By 1944, Japan’s strategic situation had deteriorated. American submarines and aircraft dominated sea lanes, and the Japanese resorted to mass conscription of merchant shipping to sustain logistics and troop movement. As Japan increasingly relied on forced labor, many ordinary cargo ships became “hell ships”—unmarked transports used to relocate Allied prisoners of war (POWs) from Southeast Asia to Japan, Korea, or Manchuria for industrial labor. The Arisan Maru was one such vessel.

Modifications made for POW transport were minimal to nonexistent. Prisoners were packed into holds designed for freight, not people, and the ship carried no visible markings to indicate its human cargo. These conditions would become tragically decisive when the vessel sailed into the gunsights of the U.S. submarine force.

The POWs

The human story of the Arisan Maru is one of intense suffering, neglect, and unimaginable loss. On October 1, 1944, roughly 1,781 Allied POWs were crammed into the vessel’s interior. The overwhelming majority were American prisoners—captured in the Philippines during 1942 and held for years in POW camps on Luzon. Most were survivors of the Bataan Death March and the subsequent internment in camps such as Cabanatuan and Bilibid Prison.

The conditions aboard were horrific. POWs were confined below deck with no ventilation, minimal space to sit or lie down, and only buckets to serve as latrines. The men suffered from starvation, dehydration, dysentery, and heat exhaustion. Reports indicate that the Arisan Maru provided scarcely any fresh food or water during the voyage. Personal accounts describe frantic attempts to share tiny amounts of drinking water within the broiling darkness of the holds.

Worse still, the Japanese made no effort to mark the ship to indicate POWs were aboard. Under international law, prisoner transports should have been clearly identified for positive recognition, but such safeguards were ignored. As a result, the prisoners’ greatest danger came not from their captors but from the very forces fighting to liberate them.

Onboard were men from multiple branches of the U.S. military—Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and civilians serving alongside the troops. These prisoners had endured years of oppressively harsh captivity, only to face their final hours locked within a steel tomb on the Philippine Sea.

The Sinking

On October 24, 1944, the Arisan Maru was traveling in convoy from Manila toward Formosa (Taiwan). In the late afternoon, the U.S. submarine USS Shark (SS-314) or possibly the USS Snook (SS-279) detected the convoy. In what would become the deadliest submarine sinking of prisoners in history, torpedoes slammed into the Arisan Maru, breaking it in two.

The Japanese crew and guards immediately abandoned ship, leaving the prisoners locked in the holds. Chaos erupted. With no assistance from their captors, POWs struggled to break free. Using force and improvised tools, prisoners tore open bulkheads, kicked down ladder accesses, and clawed their way onto the deck.

The ship sank slowly, giving some men time to escape; however, the vast majority—weak, dehydrated, and unable to swim—perished in the open sea. Many clung to debris for hours, hoping for rescue. Japanese vessels rescued only their own sailors and left the prisoners to drown.

In total, only nine to twelve POWs survived the sinking of the Arisan Maru. After weeks at sea, five were eventually rescued by Chinese guerrillas. The remainder perished. This event represents the single greatest loss of American lives at sea in World War II.

Legacy

The sinking of the Arisan Maru stands as a stark reminder of the brutal treatment of POWs in the Pacific War. The failure to mark the transport flagrantly disregarded the principles of wartime humanitarian conduct. Thousands of families never had the chance to bury their loved ones; many did not learn the fate of their sons, husbands, and brothers until after the war.

The tragedy spurred postwar investigations into the treatment of POWs and contributed to war crimes prosecutions. Survivor testimony revealed the extreme abuse inflicted upon Allied prisoners throughout their captivity.

Today, the Arisan Maru is remembered in war memorials in the United States and the Philippines. The names of those aboard are preserved across multiple archival rolls, including the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), National Archives records, and POW organizations. The story of the Arisan Maru remains a powerful testament to sacrifice and suffering—an essential part of the Pacific War narrative and a symbol of the enormous human cost of conflict.

Detailed Timeline of the Arisan Maru Tragedy

1937 — Arisan Maru constructed in Japan as a standard merchant freighter.

1941–1944 — Requisitioned for wartime service; later assigned to POW transport duty.

Early 1944 — Large numbers of American POWs from Cabanatuan and Bilibid Prison are gathered for shipment to Japan as laborers.

October 1, 1944 — Approx. 1,781 POWs are loaded aboard Arisan Maru in Manila.

October 11–20, 1944 — Vessel remains in port or anchored; prisoners endure horrific conditions in the holds.

October 21, 1944 — Arisan Maru departs Manila in Convoy MATA-30, routed via Formosa to Japan.

October 24, 1944 (late afternoon) — U.S. submarine attack sinks Arisan Maru in the Bashi Channel between Luzon and Taiwan.

Post-sinking —

  • Japanese crew rescued; POWs abandoned.

  • Only 9–12 POWs survive.

  • Survivors return to Allied lines months later.

Archival / Visual Resources & Survivor Lists

Primary Archival Sources

  • US National Archives (NARA)

    • POW rosters, submarine patrol reports

  • American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)

    • Names of the fallen

  • U.S. Army Records / Bilibid Prison rosters

  • Japanese convoy records (JACAR):

    • MATA-30 convoy details

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